Digg could take on StumbleUpon, TinyURL with new toolbar

It looks like Digg is working on a StumbleUpon-like toolbar that lets users digg, bury, or find related stories while surfing the web. Veronica Belmont first spotted a screenshot of the toolbar on Flickr, and it looks like the folks at TechCrunch managed to track down some additional information about it.

If that info is correct, here’s how it works. Users will see a toolbar the toolbar pop up on their screens. The toolbar shows up in an i-frame, which means it’s not browser specific and you can make it go away at any time just by hitting the X button.

When you visit pages that have already been submitted to Digg, you’ll see the number of votes it has received. Or you can submit the page you’re currently on. You can also bury stories or see related stories.

The toolbar will also create a shortened URL for any page you’re visiting, beginning with digg.com… You can then share this shortened URL via email, Twitter, Facebook, or other services much the same way you would with TinyURL.

The Digg toolbar is not available to the general public at this point. And for all we know, the whole thing could just be a hoax. But it certainly seems like something Digg could and/or should offer in the future.